Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Stand Up Coptic Book

I made this book to use as a recipe book, but I am sure you could think of other reasons to make this book as well.The first step is to make a Coptic bound book. Cover the book boards first, just like you normally would and sew in the signatures. If you want the book to stay open it is best if you just put one sheet in each signature, this means you need to be extra careful when sewing not to pull to tight because the paper can rip. Here are the instructions to sew a Coptic stitch using 2 needles. You can use this stitch or any other Coptic stitch you want.

Now that you have the book ready you will need another piece of book board to use as a stand. On one end cut out a an indent halfway through the book board as thick as a book board. This is where the cover will rest when the book is in standing position. Then cover the book board with book cloth and attach it to to the back cover of the book. Leave a 1/4 inch space for the hinge.

The last step is to attach an elastic band to the back of the book cover. Measure where you want it to be. Punch holes, and pull the ends of the elastic through to the inside of the cover. Glue down and cover with end paper.

An easier version if you have single sheets or recipe card is to use binder rings bind the book instead of sewing the coptic. You just punch holes through all the recipe cards and insert binder rings.